Holy Water Bucket 1936

Robert Taylor made this image of a Holy Water Bucket with watercolour on paper at some point. Taylor's use of watercolour gives a sense of translucence to the metallic object, suggesting a process of layering and building up tone which mirrors the patient labour of craft itself. The surface of the bucket has a lovely shimmering quality, and the colours blend into each other, giving the impression of a surface that has been worn smooth by contact with water. I love the way the artist has used a variety of colours to give depth and richness to the metal, the way the browns, reds, and purples mingle and interact. If you look closely at the base of the bucket, you can see the almost imperceptible line of graphite used to plot out the form. The handle, rendered in broad, confident strokes, appears to be almost weightless, a playful counterpoint to the solid, grounded form of the bucket itself. The soft colours and subtle gradations of tone give this work a devotional air. It reminds me of Giorgio Morandi's still life paintings, where humble, everyday objects are elevated to the realm of the sacred through careful observation and attention to detail. Ultimately, it invites us to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, and to find beauty in the simplest of things.